The topic of this thesis is a comparative study of meat consumption in two household types in Indonesia. The region of Yogyakarta has been chosen for this study as a representative area. The aim of the study is to estimate the meat demand in Yogyakarta, to test whether or not weekend is different from weekday consumption in these two groups, and to determine who makes meat consumption decisions in these households.

A purposive sampling method was applied to chose 40 households of university lecturers and 40 households of civil servants from the population in Yogyakarta in June 1999.

To achieve the objectives of this study, primary data obtained from a survey was analyzed using statistical analysis, such as the Chi-square test of independence, test of variance, test of independence mean, and restricted least square.

The results shows that there are four main determining factors in meat consumption in Yogyakarta, namely the price of chicken, the price of beef, household income and the education level of the husband. University lecturer and civil servant households consume more meat on weekend rather than on weekday. The university lecturers consumed more meat than civil servants households on both weekday and weekend. There are three important factors at play in university lecturer households which determine family diet: quality of the food, taste, and religious beliefs. For civil servants these factors cover: quality of the food, price of the food, and religious beliefs. The wife has a central role in determining diet in the majority of both families. However, in several families diet is determined together by its member and therefore the democratization process in diet consumption in families is starting. Most consumers prefer to consume Indonesian or local food rather than imported food. This study indicates that meat is a normal good. Furthermore, the Indonesian financial crisis has caused food consumption to fall, including meat.

Finally, this study suggests that as well as using a "halal" food label, intensive promotion through media should be taken into account in influencing the shift by consumers from Indonesian or local food to imported food. By considering the consumption behavior of families, producers of meat and butchers should produce and sell more meat on weekends rather than on weekdays. In addition, to anticipate increasing meat consumption as income increases, the government and producers of meat have to prepare earlier.